In case you needed a break after that preposterous Ryder Cup, well, you aren’t getting one. Tiger Woods is returning to action next week at the Safeway Open. Or he “hopes” to, at least, as he said in a statement last month. [restrict]

There were a lot of rumors at the Ryder Cup that Woods was possibly hedging with the word “hopes,” but one golfer who has played with him recently thinks he’s going to come back stronger than ever.

“I see Tiger at the Medalist. We talk and have played nine holes together,” Jesper Parnevik told Golf Digest. “By the way, he’s been hitting a lot of balls, and he’s hitting it great. He’s pounding it a mile and flushing everything. On the range, at least, his trajectory and ball flight are like the Tiger we knew 15 years ago. Comebacks are never a sure thing, but something tells me his might be spectacular.”

Wow!

I walked next to Woods for most of the Ryder Cup, where he was a vice captain, and he appears fit as ever. Granted, he wasn’t swinging clubs or beating balls, but he looked strong and seemed spry (although the chinstrap beard could use some work). He also sounded like someone intent on extending his career and not resorting to just being a figurehead for future U.S. teams. [/restrict]